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    Dell Studio 1555

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by ps89, Feb 17, 2009.

  1. icecubez189

    icecubez189 Notebook Deity

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    i'm extremely disappointed they took the fingerprint reader out, it's one of the best things I liked about my current notebook. i'll wait to see what the verdict is on the Studio 1555 after a few reviews.

    does anyone know what they mean by 720p, 900p and 1080p screens? sounds a little gimmicky.
     
  2. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    Display resolutions.

    720p = 1280x720
    900p = 1600x900
    1080p = 1920x1080.
     
  3. icecubez189

    icecubez189 Notebook Deity

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    thanks! wish they would just list the screen resolutions
     
  4. gentk

    gentk Notebook Enthusiast

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    Which features did they remove exactly?

    I've always thought that the touch-sensitive buttons were gimmicky and a pain to use on any laptop I've tried, and I'm also the kind of person that thinks it's stupid to carefully swipe your finger to get it right in order to login.

    And I would guess 95% of all usb drives/inputs wouldn't block the dvd drive.


    Looks like Dell focused on the real issues with this laptop... none of that touch-sensitive, fingerprint reading, face recognizing bull (well you have the option to get that if you're dumb enough). :p
     
  5. JohnByeBye

    JohnByeBye Notebook Evangelist

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    They also scrapped the Wifi Catcher which I found to be quite useful. I bought the studio 1535 for those reasons alone. I also would have preferred the media buttons separate from the keyboard. What can ya do. :rolleyes:
     
  6. Blackyblack

    Blackyblack Notebook Guru

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    Lucky you! We didn't have such option in Asia.
     
  7. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    It's a marketing gimmick. Instead of listing real resolutions, they give them the standard HD "p" resolutions, because they're 16:9 displays. They're just trying to get people to think "OMG this laptop has an HDTV display! Sucks for those poor saps with 16:10!", when all that's really happening is they're losing some vertical space.

    I've said it before, and I'll say it again now. 16:9 is for HDTV's, not computers.
     
  8. Aryq46254

    Aryq46254 Notebook Consultant

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    110% Agreed!
    --Eric
     
  9. rumrunner

    rumrunner Notebook Enthusiast

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    No sign of the Studio 1555 on dell.ca yet, so I just asked a chat rep about it and he said it should be available in the next 48 hours. Of course this is from a dell.ca rep, so take it with a grain of salt :)
     
  10. icecubez189

    icecubez189 Notebook Deity

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    i agree, i hear the reason why more and more laptop's are migrating to weird 16:9 resolutions is because the LCD companies find them cheaper to produce and therefore are pushing them against the laptop manufacturers.

    whether or not this is true, it is totally believable IMO
     
  11. drfelip

    drfelip Notebook Evangelist

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    AFAIK, that's completely true.
     
  12. MexicanSnake

    MexicanSnake I'm back!

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    Weird it seems that you cant get the 1080p screen in latin america, only 700p and 900p :s, thats just stupid why cant they put it there?

    Weird, in latin america you can add blu ray and other sound options also the bluetooth is included... But if you take a look at dell USA you cant choose blu ray :s...
     
  13. HeadlessGoat

    HeadlessGoat Notebook Enthusiast

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    Erm...You can indeed choose blue ray on the US site:

    8X Slot Load Super Multi (DL DVD+/-R Drive + RAM support) [Included in Price]
    6X Slot Load Bluray (BD) Combo Drive (BD Read Only) [add $150 or $4/month1]
    4X Slot Load Bluray (BDRW) Rewritable Drive (BD Read & Write) [add $300 or $9/month1]

    Also, for anyone in the US playing with 1555 configurations, there's a hidden 4th base config option if you use the "Top Customer Picks - Laptops" link at the bottom of the Laptop main screen. Only real advantage to using it over the second and third options on the Studio 15 page is that it lets you use a 64-bit OS with the EPP discount. Other 3 options are all 32-bit when you're using the EPP discount, for some reason, even though two of them are 64-bit without it.
     
  14. MexicanSnake

    MexicanSnake I'm back!

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    Ohh wow, thanks for the info Im going to take a look.
     
  15. Sokar0

    Sokar0 Newbie

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    The 1555 is on the Dell canada website right now.
     
  16. kirkus

    kirkus Notebook Consultant

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    wow..great
    and it's cheaper than in the US
     
  17. WillH

    WillH Notebook Enthusiast

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    I think it's a good choice (I'm not in school any more, but I plan to go order mine once I'm done here!)

    The keyboard is better than the older 1535/1537... you'll want a good keyboard for all those papers you'll write in school. If you'll be coding in school, you can get it with the awesome 1600X900 resolution screen.

    It has an LED screen and you can get the 9-cell battery for longer battery life... also important for those 3 hour classes.

    And for enjoyment, the new Radeon video card is quite decent.

    And it has a built-in subwoofer so you can crank your tunes! :)
     
  18. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    I would never crank my tunes on integrated laptop speakers, subwoofer or not. I wouldn't want to put anyone through such misery. :p

    Realistically, you should invest in a good pair of headphones or desktop speakers.

    Otherwise, the 1555 will be more than sufficient for you. My 1535 has proven itself more than adequate here at college.
     
  19. c-mattic

    c-mattic Notebook Consultant

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    We will have to wait another week here in Europe. The dell 1537 promotion has been prolonged for another week.
    Just hope it has nothing to do with our superb consumer protection law. :mad:
     
  20. WillH

    WillH Notebook Enthusiast

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    There is still hope... here in Canada, the 1537 promotion was supposed to go until May 1, but yesterday it disappeared suddenly and was replaced by the 1555. :D
     
  21. ryesher

    ryesher Notebook Enthusiast

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    Apparently the new Studio has a Synaptic touchpad, can anyone confirm this? I was nearly going to get a Studio XPS but this seems the perfect laptop to me now.

    Just wish I knew when the release date was for the UK.
     
  22. ps89

    ps89 Notebook Consultant

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    Yes. The Studio 1555 uses Synaptics instead of Alps, which is found in the older Studios. :)
     
  23. gentk

    gentk Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm in the same boat... I was planning to get a Studio XPS for quite a while, but the Studio 1555 with the upgraded gfx card seems to be perfect for me, and will probably run quite a bit cooler than the SXPS.
     
  24. Jusin

    Jusin Notebook Guru

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    Will the 9-cell battery raise the back of the computer. I really want more battery life but hate computers where the large battery lifts up the computer. Anyone know how long the 6-cell will last in the 1555?
     
  25. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    The 9-cell will prop the back of the laptop up a little under an inch. My 1535, which should have comparable power drain to the 1555, can do up to 3 hours on the 6-cell, on maximum power savings and 1/3 display brightness. On my Chinese knockoff 9-cell, I can get just over 5 hours on those same settings. I would assume the actual Dell 9-cell performs slightly better.
     
  26. tragon62

    tragon62 Newbie

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    I plan on buying the studio 1555, and I was wondering what type of resolution I should get. The 700p, 900p, or 1080p. Which is the best? and does it make a big difference, for like watching movies, etc.

    And also, is there a big difference in the 256 and 512 video cards?
     
  27. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    Depends on what you want to do with it. If you do a lot of gaming and aren't into HD movies, then 720p or 900p should be fine. If you want to watch full HD movies, and want a lot of screen space (mind you, this means icons and text will all be smaller, and it taxes your graphics card more in games), then the 1080p would be best.
    The video card only has a 64-bit memory bus, and isn't really powerful enough to justify 512MB anyway. It's basically impossible to saturate the 64-bit bus with 256MB on this card. Save your money.
     
  28. BlackHawk7

    BlackHawk7 Notebook Evangelist

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    So the 256 MB should handle plenty? If so, how much battery life do you think is savable with a lower graphics chipset?
     
  29. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    If there is a performance difference between the 256 and 512MB versions of that card, it won't be anything noticeable to the naked eye. You'd have to look at synthetic benchmarks.

    I'm not sure about the battery difference between the Intel chipset integrated graphics and the ATi dedicated graphics.
     
  30. c-mattic

    c-mattic Notebook Consultant

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    Here's a review of the dell 1555. I found it on a Thai blog named blognone.com
    Hope you like the translation :)

    Technical specs:
    Core 2 Duo T9400 2.53GHz Montevina code year 2008.
    Ram 2GB.
    Video card ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570.
    Hard Disk 160GB Hitachi.
    Screen 15.6 "resolution 1366x768 (ratio 16:9).
    Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300.
    Blu-ray Drive-Slot
    USB x2 (+ USB / eSATA combo)
    Port HDMI, IEEE 1394, SD reader.
    6 cell battery.
    Vista Home Premium 64-bit.

    The Dell Studio 1555 uses the latest Montevina platform combined with a 16:9 screen and optional Blu-ray drive.
    First thing we see, in comparison with the old studio 1535, is the missing fingerprint reader and 1 usb port less. On the other hand the new 1555 has a slight smaller weight.

    The body used in the 1555 is nearly the same as in the old 1535, except it is a bit larger (due to the 15.6" screen).

    Overall look
    [​IMG]

    Left side
    [​IMG]

    Difference in length (1555 vs 1535)
    [​IMG]

    Size in comparison with a standard cd/dvd
    [​IMG]

    As you can see on the image below, the status lights (wifi, bluetooth and harddrive activity) are now missing on the dell 1555
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The sd-card reader has moved from the left to the right side (in comparison with the 1535). And on the 1555 you only have 3 usb ports, compared to 4 on the earlier 1535.
    [​IMG]

    The power button has not changed and still illuminates the same. Except that now the power cable also illuminates.
    [​IMG]

    Windows Vista gives a general score of 5.2! Quite impressive!
    [​IMG]

    The system takes 27 seconds to boot and 11 to shut down.

    Blu-ray experience. Blu-ray is still growing and needs updates. I noticed Blu-ray is very well copyright protected. For example it is impossible to use the print screen button when watching a movie!
    As we can expect with the 16:9 screen, no more black bars in full screen mode!
    [​IMG]

    Source: http://www.blognone.com/node/11399

    I honestly have to say it isn't an extensive review at all. But hey, better than nothing!
     
  31. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    That looks like a decent review. Although I am stumped as to why they relocated the ports the way they did. Putting that one USB port right under the optical drive slot it simply retarded.
     
  32. gamezmaster

    gamezmaster Notebook Geek

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    Too true. I totally agree with that since some USB devices would easily block it. I don't understand why they didn't put the USB port towards the front edge like the 1537 and put the media card reader under the optical drive. Lets face it, that's never going to obstruct the drive. ;)
     
  33. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    I don't see what was wrong with the existing setup. 2 USB ports on each side, with the ExpressCard and media card slots on the left worked just fine. And it's not like the 1555 is any shorter than the 1535/1537.
     
  34. gamezmaster

    gamezmaster Notebook Geek

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    I thought the old layout was alright. It even had a 54mm ExpressCard instead of the smaller 34mm one found in the 1555. Still, I think that generally the 1555 is an improvement though.

    As for the touch pad, it also looks to be quite promising according to this page on the Synaptics website:

    http://www.synaptics.com/solutions/technology/gestures/touchpad
     
  35. Melody

    Melody How's It Made Addict

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    I was kind of disappointed about losing one USB port and I suppose depending on what you put in the USB port under the Optical Drive, you could keep it unblocked, but yeah, generally that doesn't seem like the best place :/
     
  36. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    I just don't know why they changed it at all. The physical dimensions of both sides are exactly the same as those on the 1535/1537
     
  37. BlackHawk7

    BlackHawk7 Notebook Evangelist

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    It's probably all the changes they had to make... for hardware quality improvement, to compromise the small changes they took out.

    Also it's probably a way to save money.
     
  38. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    I suppose they could save money by eliminated one port, but still, why shuffle all the rest around?
    That's actually pretty damn cool. I may just buy the illuminated adapter for my Studio 15...I've been meaning to get a spare for a while, actually.
     
  39. Aryq46254

    Aryq46254 Notebook Consultant

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    My 1537 came with the glowing power cable. For what its worth, this illuminated adapter is awful bright, and the blue never turns off... As long as the adapter is plugged in, even if not connected to the laptop, that blue is gonna be glowing. I've actually wrapped some black gaffers (duct-like) tape around it cuz it bothered me at night when I was trying to sleep :)

    Just my .02... ;)
    --Eric
     
  40. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    My adapter doesn't glow. :(

    I'll trade you for my current non-glowing adapter from my 1535. :p No tape required!
     
  41. Aryq46254

    Aryq46254 Notebook Consultant

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    hehe, okay, you mail me yours first ;) I can't be without my adapter, this thing gets too much use. LOL :)

    --Eric
     
  42. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    Haha...I have one 6 cell and one 9 cell battery. At best, I'm looking at 8 hours of use away from power. If I can ship you mine, have it arrive and get yours here within 8 hours, you've got a deal. :p

    Realistically, I'll see if anyone here has a compatible adapter I can use for a while. If that's the case, I'll gladly ship you mine and wait for you to get it to ship yours. :p
     
  43. BlackHawk7

    BlackHawk7 Notebook Evangelist

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    Mastershroom- how much did you spend on your 1535 when you bought it?
     
  44. Aryq46254

    Aryq46254 Notebook Consultant

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    I'd be willing to do a trade if you can figure out the details, sure. The blue light is pretty, but just a bit distracting for me. Drop me a pvt msg if you want to talk about it more. Like I said, I'd be game.

    Ok, back to Accounting homework... someone shoot me ;)

    Just my .02... ;)
    --Eric
     
  45. BlackHawk7

    BlackHawk7 Notebook Evangelist

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    Has anyone gotten a ship date for their Studio 1555 yet?
     
  46. ComicGuy89

    ComicGuy89 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi, how well will the Studio 1555's Radeon 4570 run against games? I'm looking to play these games:

    1) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (really hope this works)
    2) Age of Empires III
    3) LOTR: The Battle for Middle Earth II

    Thanks!
     
  47. Melody

    Melody How's It Made Addict

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    Oblivion should work as my friend's Acer with an Intel GMA4500 can play it so I'd expect a HD4570 to at the very least be able to play it.

    Age of Empires 3 isn't very GPU demanding either so it'll run most likely. Any lag or drop in FPS would most likely be due to the CPU doing mass calculations.

    Battle for Middle Earth would be the same as above. Most RTS games aren't very graphically demanding(at least not compared to other games) so they should run on a lesser GPU.

    The HD4570 can play older games ok, just don't expect miracles since it is still a lower class GPU.
     
  48. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    Empire: Total War would like a word with you.
     
  49. Melody

    Melody How's It Made Addict

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    Ahem, I said "most" :rolleyes:

    Obviously there are a few which are GPU demanding, but it's not a majority(as in more than 75% of the existing RTS games to date since 3 years ago).
     
  50. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    Touché.

    You're right, though; RTS games in general tend to focus more on large amounts of units being controlled at once (processing power) rather than super pretty graphics and lens flare effects (GPU power).
     
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